Trump pulls out of Syria

I despise them both, but had Clinton (or pretty much any Democrat/Republican) been POTUS, this would probably not be happening - she campaigned on a promise of expanding the war in Syria, thus risking conflict with Russia and possible WW3. Trump campaigned on a promise of pulling out of the wars.

Whatever his motives might be, he is, partially, fulfilling a campaign promise.

Idiot conspiracy theorists (aka entire MSM/neoliberal establishment) will say he is doing it to please Putin. Even if that were true, who cares? US/NATO wars have killed over four million Muslims in the last three decades. Any retreat should be welcomed! But in their anti-Trump derangement, ‘liberals’ are now hardcore supporters of US imperialism.

(UPDATE: Whatever he may be doing re Syria, Trump is actually a pro-war imperialist asshole.

Cycle of hell

Bin Laden and al Qaeda emerged, and 9/11 happened, as a consequence of the west’s destruction of Afghanistan in the 1980s - which they did by supporting jihadist insurgents, the Mujahideen.

And in recent years, history has been repeated, with ISIS emerging as a result of US/NATO’s destruction of Iraq, Libya and Syria, which has involved them supporting sectarian extremists (against secularists/moderates).

Now that regime change in Syria has failed, Trump is withdrawing, and these extremists have been abandoned by their western sponsors, they’re going to be fleeing to Europe and elsewhere, and they’re going to be very angry jihadists!

So more blowback terrorism will be coming our way.

As ever, security/military contractors will be able to take advantage of the situation and make more profits at the expense of our liberties. And they will push for yet more militarism in response, and the cycle of chaotic violence and death will continue. (They will probably blame future terror attacks, and justify future military campaigns and occupations, on Trump’s withdrawal).

For the UK, our best hope of escaping this cycle of hell is to elect a socialist, lifelong anti-war activist as PM!

RT blamed for French Yellow Vest protests

Watch this interview with historian Mark Curtis to understand why Russian state broadcaster RT is so hated by western powers. Too many uncomfortable truths. When did you last see anything in western ‘MSM’ about the British being complicit in the deaths of 8million+ people since 1945?

RT is attacked for its extensive coverage of dissent in the west, but as detailed in this interview, there’s rather a lot for us to be angry about, and given that ‘MSM’ is proven to mostly act as a propaganda machine for elite interests, there is quite a big gap in the market for RT!

Is RT doing it as part of a campaign by the Kremlin to fuel the dissent? Who knows, but if they are, so what? Firstly, the more dissent the better, as radical change is needed to save the planet and its inhabitants from climate catastrophe, and from the western imperialism that Curtis describes - and surely any attempt by Russia to meddle in western affairs is a defensive move against this imperialism? (Russia has been encircled by NATO bases, and countries on its border have been covertly attacked in regime-change operations).

Secondly, the west does this constantly - the US conducts propaganda campaigns in target countries all the time, as part of regime change operations. Why do you think many countries don’t allow a free media, and keep it under state control? Surely, at least partly, because of this threat!

So it is hypocritical as hell for western governments to be attacking RT. We need to realise this, and focus on attacking our ‘MSM’ instead, for being an arm of our corporate, imperial state; for propagating for wars that have killed millions of people; for barely covering climate change and environmental degredation, or informing us about the main cause of it - corporate capitalism, (with the military-industrial complex as the single biggest contributor).

Jeremy Corbyn, and the changes he wants to make (particularly re foreign policy), is the greatest threat to the western elite in decades. Trump is as well - largely because he’s just extremely embarrassing for America’s image as a bastion of freedom and human rights, that many somehow still fall for. With Trump, the mask is lifted.

Russia is the scapegoat to explain away all the discontent that led to the popularity of Corbyn, Trump, Brexit, etc; to distract the masses from the real culprits - our ruling elite and their neoliberal scam of a system.

Midterms 2018

So the ‘Blue wave’ hasn’t really happened. Against a fascistic man-baby, and with pretty much the entire ‘MSM’ behind them, the Democrats just about managed to take back the House and actually LOST seats in the Senate. Pathetic!

Trump will be around until 2024 unless the Democrats are able to miraculously reform by 2020 and actually offer the revolutionary change that people and planet need. But this will not happen, because they are in bed with the oligarchy/Wall Street: eg every single Democrat recently voted for an environment-killing $700 billion military budget. Meanwhile, there’s extreme poverty, homelessness crisis, massive debt, no public healthcare, etc. United States of Corruption.

Expect more Russia nonsense and zero self-reflection from the Dems over the next two years! The two-party dictatorship serving the interests of the billionaires, will continue, meaning that people will only get angrier and the far-right will continue to thrive.

USA and Israel again vote to continue Cuba blockade

Despite the blockade - which they say has deprived their economy of over $933billion - Cubans have a higher life expectancy than Americans; free healthcare, education, etc. Just imagine how even-more-amazingly they'd be doing without the blockade! 

The US will never allow a thriving non-neoliberal capitalist society to exist so close to its borders (...or anywhere). Can't have Americans noticing that there is another way of doing things!

Now...

WHY CAN'T THE REST OF THE WORLD UNITE AND TELL AMERICA AND ISRAEL TO FUCK OFF?!

Oh yeah, cos our neoliberal governments don't actually have much agency and exist at the behest of US hegemony/corporations and plutocrats (sorry, the 'free market').

Socialist China beats 'free market' countries when it comes to green energy?

Isn’t it crazy that we aren’t all driving electric cars by now?

Just imagine how different our world could be if the $trillions spent on militarism and corporate consumerism, for the benefit of a few scumbag war profiteers/corporations, had instead been invested in science and green technology.

For how long will we continue to allow our ruling elite, and the neoliberal system that enriches them (whilst putting the rest of us in debt), destroy our planet?

The ‘free market’ (aka corporate-controlled) system is literally going to wipe us out. I guess it’s a testament to the level of propaganda that we are subjected to, that we are mostly just letting this happen.

Maybe socialist China will provide some hope...? (Not that I’m a massive fan of everything about their system either!).

Trump is a puppet of the Neocon state, not Putin - we need radical change asap

As has been obvious from the outset, Donald is not a ‘Kremlin puppet’. With him today vowing to pull out of a nuclear deal with Russia (INF), and with Politico reporting that the Mueller investigation has basically led nowhere, that official conspiracy theory can surely finally die, (though its proponents will of course face no comeuppance and will continue to earn $$$ propagandizing for corporate media).

What Trump IS, is a puppet of corporate, Neoconservative USA - and an even more easy-to-control puppet than Obama, it seems. But without Obama’s ‘liberal’ (pro-LGBT, feminist, pro-choice) mask.

The system/ruling elite pulling the strings of every US President seek no less than total global domination. As well as being an embarrassment to the US brand, and thus a hindrance to continued US imperialism, Trump initially showed some signs that he would go against this system - professing a desire for better relations with Russia, threatening to pull out of Syria - so an unhinged ‘red-scare’ was recreated, with outlandish allegations of Trump-Putin ‘collusion’, so as to topple this unmasked face of America, or at least to bring him into line and prevent any possibility of a more peaceful relationship with Russia. Any apparent attempt by Trump to seek a better relationship with Russia - or even just to meet with Putin - was met with cries of ‘Putin puppet!’ from the corporate media. (Whether Trump ever actually wanted better relations with Russia, I doubt).

The puppeteers almost had the predictable, reliably militaristic, ‘liberal’ Hillary Clinton, to oversee their continued imperial pursuits, corporate rule, and ever-expanding Orwellian control of society, but instead they got an embarrassing, overtly inhumane buffoon, who is completely destroying any illusion of the US as a bastion of humanity and freedom in the world. And who also, unfortunately (for us), is proving to be even more dangerous than those before him.

We need an anti-war movement. And we need to overthrow our neoliberal capitalist system (aka corporate dictatorship) that will not and cannot accept a multi-polar world order. It would rather drive us to total destruction than accept this, either via environmental devastation/climate-change, or via nuclear war with other powers (Russia/China), as it continues to spread like a disease throughout the world.

We need to give power back to the people. How propagandised have we been to believe that a system of perpetual growth and profit (for those at the top) is good and sustainable for our little planet? Trump is just a product of this system. It’s time to reverse our doomed trajectory and put people and planet before corporate profit!

Documentary illustrates why we desperately need a Jeremy Corbyn government

Watch this documentary.

The financial system of offshore tax havens, set up after the fall of the British Empire to maintain a less obvious kind of colonialism, has facilitated the looting of developing countries, and the formation of corrupt governments that work in the interests of a financial elite, not the people.

We’re ruled by psychopathic crooks. To save the planet and its inhabitants, we’ve no option but to try and change the horrific system of perpetual plunder and oppression by an unaccountable, mercenary elite. Making lifelong social justice and peace campaigner Jeremy Corbyn PM would give us our best shot at doing so.

Join Labour. We can only do this as a collective!

Michael Palin in North Korea

I just finished watching the first episode of Michael Palin in North Korea, broadcast on mainstream UK television. Whilst I found it to be a fairly respectful insight, (comparatively to most western media), Palin frequently points to the propaganda in NK, whilst parroting western propaganda tropes about the country. Quite ironic! (No one beats USA when it comes to propaganda!).

He goes into a hairdressers & points at a poster of models all with similar hairstyles, (as if to suggest that all citizens have to look the same, and perhaps look similar to Kim Jong Un). In reality this is no different to most barbershops in the UK, which often have such posters of models with slight variations of a ‘short back & sides’ hairstyle. And let’s not forget that most westerners, like a herd of sheep, follow trends – hairstyles, fashion, interior design, gadgets, etc – which are set by corporations via advertising so as to constantly create new opportunities for revenue. Is this really any better than copying the hairstyle of your country’s leader?

He observes frequent statues and imagery of the leaders, and the badges of them that many citizens proudly wear on their jacket lapels. Is this so different from statues in other countries, of royalty, presidents, 'founding fathers' etc? I have been to Thailand several times, and the admiration that they have there for their late King was visible everywhere. Regarding the badges, is this not comparable to seemingly every other home in America proudly displaying the stars and stripes on the porch? The patriotism/nationalism in the US is more noticeable than any other country I have visited. Presidents who oversaw violent coups and illegal invasions of foreign countries, are lionized. The extremely bloodied flag is on display everywhere. Surely there is no citizenry more brainwashed than the American populace?

There’s little context to explain why NK is the way it is. Their militarism is understandable - I wonder if Michael even knows that America has been surrounding the region with military bases. Plus obviously there is their militarism/war games in the South, their refusal to sign peace treaties, their recent regime change interventions in other countries…

When he arrives, by train from China, into the north of the country, he is told to stop filming. He proclaims that this is the ‘first sign of authoritarian rule’. In reality, this is no different to arriving in many countries. I have been shouted at for filming in LA airport.

I am not saying NK isn’t repressive – it seems clear that citizens have little choice but to respect their system/ruler - but how much of this authoritarianism is a result of a need to unite against a very real imperial threat (from the same country that decimated their land and people in the 1950s)?

And perhaps they actually have some freedoms that many westerners do not have? The freedom to live in dignity; to not have to worry about basic needs, because the communist system prioritises that; the freedom to not be constantly manipulated and mentally abused by a virulent corporate state; the freedom to not be forced (due to poverty) into the military to fight in imperial wars...

I look forward to the rest of the series. Hopefully Michael comes to realise that he is just as/more propagandised than the people of North Korea.


Notes on episode 2:

Michael seems to find it odd that an elderly farmer does not want to talk about the famine of the 1990s. The insinuation is that citizens are fearful of talking about any negative aspects of North Korean leadership. But it is hardly unreasonable for her to not wish to discuss what must have been an extremely traumatic time, during which she may have lost loved ones.

He questions his guide as to why North Koreans don't criticize their leadership, and is somewhat dismayed by her response - that the leadership genuinely represents the people, so to criticize it is to criticize oneself. Palin shows his naivety in suggesting that western leaders also care about the people, and that we are still free to criticize them - it is not really true that leaders of neoliberal capitalist countries care about the people; they are mostly just puppets of the 'free market'/corporations. Profit is the priority).

Unfortunately there was no acknowledgement by Michael at the end that he is himself a victim of (western) propaganda, but he did at least say that the country was not the brutal and unhappy place that he had expected.

9/11: Never Forgot...

#NeverForget the millions of Arabs killed/maimed/displaced by the imperial wars fought by the US+allies following 9/11, (and before).

#NeverForget that the 9/11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, yet it is Iran that America nonsensically describes as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, whilst Saudi remains a close ally.

#NeverForget that al Qaeda was born out of America’s support for the Mujahideen in the 1980s.

#NeverForget the war propaganda - the WMD lie, the ‘Saddam is working with al Qaeda’ lie, the ‘Gaddafi is going to massacre Benghazi’ lie, the ‘Assad is gassing his own people’ lie, the ‘Houthis are an Iranian proxy’ lie... etc.

#NeverForget that the US, having ostensibly set out to defeat al Qaeda, was just a decade later supporting them and their ilk in Libya/Syria (just as they were in the 1980s), and is now allied with them in Yemen.

#NeverForget that the ‘War On Terror’ has been a farce from day one; a ploy to enable imperial plunder of the Middle East and beyond.

#NeverForget the attacks on our civil liberties.

#NeverForget that the US is the bloodiest inflictor of terror that the planet has ever seen.

#NeverForget that the US is by far the greatest threat to world peace and progress, and that this was the case long before Trump came along.

The Skripal Suspects

UPDATE: Probably best to ignore everything I've written and just read Craig Murray's post


(Note: I have no issue believing that Russian secret services, like those of other countries, assassinate people. But, at a time when there is a blatant agenda in the west to demonise Putin and provoke Russia via NATO expansion, I think it is completely rational and responsible to treat all western government claims against Russia extremely skeptically).

I just watched the full 30 minute interview on RT with the two Salisbury suspects, named - without providing any supportive evidence - as GRU agents, by Theresa May. (On the same day, UK police have said that they had no evidence of this). As ever, the corporate/state media in the west reported the government's claims unquestioningly. (On matters of ‘national security’ and foreign policy, the corporate media is almost entirely a mouthpiece for the state. Or, perhaps it’s more accurate to say that it is they who set the agenda?).

In the interview, the suspects come across to me as very nervous and edgy. Are they nervous and edgy because they really are innocent, ordinary citizens, and this attention has all come as a complete shock? Are they nervous and edgy because the Russian state is forcing them to give this interview and fabricate an alibi? I've no idea. Personally, I don’t find their alibi - that they were just tourists visiting Salisbury -  quite as implausible as some. Salisbury was one of Lonely Planet’s top 10 city destinations in 2014. As this article in the Salisbury Journal states, 'the tourism business is booming in Salisbury with significant increases in overseas visitors'. Though, for sure, their story is definitely highly questionable.

The main issue, obviously, is that they just happened to visit the city at pretty much the exact time that the Skripals were poisoned. Is this just too much of a coincidence? How often exactly are Russian tourists visiting the city?

If it weren’t for the absurdity of the 'Putin did it' narrative, I’d be much more inclined to completely right-off the theory that this could just be a coincidence. Perhaps it is bizarre to say that two Russian nationals just innocently happened to be in Salisbury, 400 yards from the Skripal’s house, on the same day as their poisoning, but the official theory is also bizarre:

Russia had a longstanding program of putting poison onto door handles, and they decided to utilize it going after a spy pardoned years ago in a spy swap, (thus jeopardising future spy swaps), just before the World Cup (and Russian election), when the Kremlin was focussed on selling a positive image of Russia to the world.

The GRU assassins, who failed to assassinate their target, made no attempt to cover their tracks, flying in straight from Moscow, using public transport, operating in broad daylight, with no proper protective clothing, using a (10x deadlier than VX) Soviet poison that would instantly be linked to Russia. And afterwards, they just flung the poison bottle away in the centre of Salisbury. They made no attempt to hide from CCTV, nor to quickly escape the scene of the crime.

These are some unbelievably careless assassins! Or are we to believe that this was intentional - that Putin wanted them to be discovered? That Putin wanted to carry out a brazen act of terrorism on British soil to show the world that Russia is now, once again, a force to be reckoned with? This is the theory that some in corporate media are pushing. Unless you believe Putin to be a deranged madman with massive delusions of grandeur, who doesn’t care at all about Russia’s image in the world, or about the Russian economy - he must really want those sanctions - then this theory seems extremely illogical/absurd.

If it really was a Kremlin job, it must have been about something other than Skripal just being a traitor - as explained, that theory makes little sense, given that he was released years ago, the timing, etc. It must have been about something that he has been up to in the years since his pardoning. Surely British security services will know more about what he's been doing with himself? That they, the government, and the corporate media insist that it was simply an attack on a traitor by the (clearly unhinged and power-hungry) Putin, makes me extremely suspicious. 


Some questions/notes:

Why was the site in Salisbury turned upside down, pets killed etc, but the hotel in east London - where traces of the poison were supposedly also found - wasn’t?

The Skripals left home at 09.15. The suspects arrived into Salisbury station at 11.48. How had the Skripals managed to get back to their home, and touch the door handle, in the hour between noon and 1pm, without being caught on any of the CCTV cameras that caught them going out and caught the Russian visitors so extensively? After this remarkably invisible journey, what time did they touch the door handle?

Why was a D-notice put out re Pablo Miller? 

Why has it taken so long to reveal these suspects? The timing seems convenient, just before the first PMQs after the Summer, allowing Theresa to grandstand. Plus useful to distract from Brexit chaos etc.

Why little mention that Russia got rid of their chemical weapons (according to OPCW) last year? (Unlike many western countries!). 

Why did Charlie Rowley say that the poison bottle was sealed when he found it? 

Why is no one in the media being allowed to question the Skripals? Why was GPS on both Skripals’ phones switched off for four hours on the day they were poisoned? What has Sergei Skripal been doing in the years since being pardoned by Russia?

Why did the U.K. refuse to provide the fingerprints and visa application forms of the suspects to Russia?

Why has BBC’s Mark Urban not spoken about the fact he had contacts with Sergei Skripal six months before the incident? 

Would assassins really use public transport? Surely a car would be used, to avoid CCTV and unreliable public transport? Given the UK weather forecast - heavy snow, storms etc - if you were an assassin, wouldn’t you delay the job until the bad weather was over?

It was originally thought that the Skripals had been exposed to opioids. When was it determined that it was in fact a nerve agent ‘of a type developed by Russia’? 

Many other Russians have died in the UK under suspicious circumstances - many with links to the Russian mafia - with no such media reaction and casting of blame, as with the Skripals. Why is this? In previous cases, despite the US insisting that the Kremlin was behind the deaths, the UK authorities have insisted that this was not the case.

How is it possible that the Met Police do not know what kind of visas the suspects travelled on?

The NATO-affiliated Bellingcat group claims to have discovered that Petrov and Boshirov’s passports were of a series issued only to Russian spies, and that their visa applications listed GRU headquarters as their address. How is it possible that UK security services didn't spot this when they applied for their visas? Surely they would have done, and they subsequently would have been monitored closely by MI6 during their time in the UK?

Why did Sergei, at first, not think that the Kremlin was behind the assassination attempt? And why does that claim, by the Guardian's Luke Harding, completely contradict what Sergei's best friend, Ross Cassidy, has said? Cassidy says that Sergei had feared retribution and seemed ‘spooked’ in the lead up to the attack - he even changed his mobile phone amid concern it was being monitored. If this is true, then Sergei will surely have assumed immediately that it was the Kremlin that was responsible for the assassination attempt? Why would Luke Harding, and others, be lying about this?

Why have the Skripals not been in touch with their family in Russia?

This former Israeli expert on international terrorism, finds the theory that these evidently extremely careless and incompetent suspects were decorated GRU agents to be totally absurd.

Michael Pozner, a respected journalist/broadcaster who had a show on US television during the first Cold War, gives a talk here at Yale University - the entire talk is worth listening to, but he speaks about the Skripal debacle in the last 5 minutes, and is also highly skeptical of the theory that Putin would have assassinated Sergei.

If anyone can think of any other questions; any inconsistencies etc in the official narrative, please comment! (And tell me if I’ve got anything wrong). I recommend reading this great article by Jonathan Cook, which sums up why none of these questions will likely be asked in the corporate media.


Whatever happened in Salisbury, there is clearly much that we are not being told, and this whole sorry debacle needs to be looked at in context of the west’s anti-Russia agenda, which has been ongoing for years. It is clear that conclusions have been jumped to; that the UK government decided that ‘Putin did it’ without awaiting proof, and despite the lack of logic in such an assertion. In such a scenario, the media, security services etc, are inclined to desperately seek supportive evidence, and perhaps manufacture it, in order to back-up the government's claim, and are likely (as is clearly happening) to ignore that which contradicts/questions it. 


Finally, if this really was a Kremlin hit, it is absolutely absurd for the west to act righteous. No one beats them, when it comes to killing people with chemical weapons.

Alex Jones removed from Twitter

Surely it is no coincidence that just after Twitter’s CEO is questioned in Washington, Alex Jones is removed from Twitter? Clearly these social media giants will do as they’re told if put under enough pressure.

Anti-establishment, anti-imperialist leftists will also be targeted (we already are) - we are equally despised by the elite. I’m convinced that ultimately we are the real target for suppression. Jones is just a useful excuse to get the censorship underway.

The powers that be must realise that banning Jones will only embolden his following/make them more extreme. The strategy I think is to divide us, even more than we already are. Social media provides us with an opportunity for unity - a huge threat to elite domination. Best to keep us fighting each other.

Instead of censorship, how should the likes of Jones be defeated? Simple: our rulers should stop being corrupt, war-profiteering, corporatist, greedy, lying bastards. But unfortunately all of that is in their DNA, and required, to sustain the horrific system that we live under.

The splintering of social media - divide and rule?

They say that social media needs to be ‘regulated’ (censored) because it is divisive, but...

‘Regulating’ social media platforms will just lead to the splintering of them as people seek other, smaller platforms on which to express their views instead. Thus meaning an even greater tendency to get stuck in echo chambers, and more divisiveness, not less.

‪Whilst we’re all on the same platform, we’ve the potential to debate, unite, and threaten the system. It’s this that is the real threat.‬

Divide and rule.

The Silencing of Dissent continues on social media

Acclaimed Venezuelan news site, Venezuela Analysis, have had their Facebook page removed, days after publishing an article about the attempted assassination of Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, that challenged and debunked western's media's coverage of the attack. 

The silencing of any non-US State Department-aligned media and narratives on social media is in motion.

When Facebook is working with an organisation (the Atlantic Council) that is run by former US government officials and funded by NATO and war profiteers, to tackle ‘fake news’, what do you expect?

I find the argument that Facebook, with its billion+ users, is ‘a private corporation so can do as it pleases’ really insane. It has a horrifying amount of power. Following the removal of right-wing moron Alex Jones, some so-called socialists have been arguing this. They seem to have suddenly become ardent supporters of the ‘free market’/corporate state! Really strange. (Also strange that libertarians are doing the opposite!).

How foolish to think that our corporate rulers will only go after right-wingers like Alex Jones. He was just a useful excuse to justify censorship of those who really threaten their power - the socialist left.

And given that Silicon Valley is deeply imbedded with the state, as exemplified by Facebook's partnering with the Atlantic Council, it is not really accurate to describe these tech corporations are ‘private'. The US is an oligarchy/corporatocracy, not a democracy. The US government works in the interests of corporations and oligarchs, not the people. They ARE the government.

If you’re unbothered about hugely powerful and influential social media corporations working with the state to decide what is truth and what is not, what you are unbothered by is the silencing of dissent, and the silencing of the millions of victims of US/capitalist imperialism. These platforms have given them a voice. You are unbothered by the continued rule and destruction of the planet by oligarchs and corporate power, and our continued decline into dystopia.

US authorities assert that Putin poisoned the Skripals - UK media stenography ensues

Has any 'MSM' journalist questioned the assertion by US authorities yesterday that Russia was behind the Skripal poisoning? Or is it just wall-to-wall stenography? 

Isn't it funny that Trump is (rightly) criticised constantly for lying, but not when it comes to matters that suit the western foreign policy establishment’s pro-war/anti-Russia agenda.

And obviously little mention of the fact that these new sanctions completely contradict the ridiculous ‘Trump is Putin’s puppet’ MSM conspiracy theory!

On matters of ‘national security’ and war, anything coming from the US State Department is generally reported unquestioningly, despite decades of monstrous lies resulting in literally millions of deaths. It’s almost like the media is owned by just a few oligarchs/corporations that support this sick and deceitful system!

Meanwhile, little Venezuela, struggling to survive following centuries of colonialism and economic warfare, is treated by the media like the epitome of corruption and evil. It is the west and it’s media that is evil.

Labour's anti-Semitism 'crisis'

If people are actually falling for this ‘anti-Semitism crisis in Labour’ nonsense then really, I give up.

Corbyn is pro-Palestine and anti-Israeli occupation of their land. The Israel Lobby in the UK, which is quite powerful, will thus be making efforts to have him ousted. (Watch Al Jazeera’s The Lobby, and Channel 4’s Dispatches: Inside Britain’s Israel Lobby, on YouTube).

Corbyn is socialist and wants to take on the capitalist system. Those who currently benefit from this system and do not wish to see their taxes rise etc, are thus looking for any way in which to smear him... communist spy, Hamas supporter, anti-Semite... whatever.

It doesn’t take a genius to see what is happening. Anti-semitism has been weaponised, in a disgraceful attempt at smearing a lifelong anti-racist campaigner, because the powers that be, and the Israel Lobby, fear his policies.

Remember: Corbyn was fighting against racism when most politicians were complicit in it. He has consistently been on the right side of history in matters of injustice and war&peace, unlike most in his profession!

It seems to me that the most guilty of anti-Semitism right now are those who are disregarding the opinions from the many Jewish people and groups who agree with what I have just said. Winston Churchill once referred to communist/non-Zionist Jews as 'bad Jews', and blamed all revolutions of the 19th century on them. It seems that history is repeating.



NB I am not saying that anti-Semitism is non-existent in Labour. There are 600,000 members. Realistically there are bound to be a few racists, of all kinds, amongst them. It is the insistence that there is a 'crisis' that is blatant propaganda.

CNN - CIA News Network

CNN and co are furious that Trump dismissed the so-called conclusions of US intelligence. It’s hilarious.

How dare he point out the bleedin obvious - that the FBI never analysed the DNC servers. How dare he attack the reliability of Mueller and co - the same guys who lied about Iraqi WMDs.

Please never watch this ‘news’ channel. Unless you really like being lied to/manipulated by a bunch of delusional American supremacists.

The one (and probably only) good thing about Trump is that he doesn’t seem to give a shit about maintaining Empire alliances, or respecting that ‘official enemies’ must remain enemies (...except Iran). And Empire propagandists like CNN absolutely HATE this.

'Whatabout' Obama?

The genocidal assault on Yemen began under Obama.

The destruction of Libya based on complete lies, and leading to the spread of extremism and the rise of ISIS, and to the migrant crisis, happened under Obama.

The CIA regime-change operation in Syria, involving the providing of billions of dollars of support to the likes of al Qaeda, and which has killed over 500,000 people and displaced millions, began under Obama.

The Neoconservaive wars continued and expanded under Obama with mass drone bombings (26,172 dropped in 2016 alone) and military operations in multiple Middle Eastern/African countries, including those mentioned above plus - Somalia, Pakistan, Sudan, and of course Afghanistan and Iraq.

Travel restrictions from these Muslim-majority countries began under Obama.

The election of a right-wing regime in Honduras, which has overseen the killing of hundreds of human rights campaigners, including LGBT and environmental activists, was enabled by Obama, who recognized and legitimised the 2009 coup regime when most rightly did not.

Mass deportations (including family separations) began under Obama. The deportees included many victims of his and his predecessor’s actions in Latin America, including Hondurans, who continue to flee to the US in desperation. The cruelty of this is shocking.

The elected government in Ukraine was overthrown with help from Obama in 2014, who then supported the coup government, which includes known neo-Nazis.

The attack on civil liberties, justified by the perpetual, and fake, ‘war on terror’, continued under Obama. He mass surveilled citizens, made it lawful to assassinate people without judicial review, had the FBI spy on journalists, and prosecuted more than double the number of whistleblowers than all prior presidents combined...

Journalism was attacked under Obama - Assange.

Tyrants around the world were embraced and given military aid under Obama. For example, Netenyahu was armed, and Palestinians ignored, even after the IDF had just slaughtered 2000 Palestinians in 50 days, including 550 children.

Protestors were tear gassed and jailed under Obama.

The bankers were protected by Obama.

The needs of corporations were prioritised by Obama, over the needs of ordinary people, and the environment.

Etc.

If people are just ‘waking up’ and will continue to protest when a 'politically correct', but equally militaristic and anti-freedom Democrat replaces Trump in 2020, then great. But given the silence (or worse - adulation) during Obama’s term, I think this unlikely.

We’re being massively manipulated. Most of the powerful actors behind the anti-Trump movement could not give a damn about Trump doing all of the above. They call Trump a fascist to distract from their own slide towards it; they emphasise his obvious delinquency to distract us from the fact that they actually support most of his agenda. They love that he is a useful distraction, though at the same time hate that he’s taken off the 'politically correct' mask and is an unpredictable embarrassment to the US Empire.

Read this.

Watch this.

It isn't a Muslim Ban

Trump's travel ban is good optics for his racist base, but it isn't actually a Muslim ban, as it doesn't include Muslim countries that serve US interests, (Saudi Arabia etc).

What it is, is a ban on people from countries targeted by the State Department for regime change/destabilisation/plunder - the US, for several years now, has been bombing most of these countries.

It is a ban on victims of US imperialism.

Obama was already restricting travel from these countries. Yet again, Trump has just taken off the mask, revealing more than ever, the ugly reality of the American Empire. (Well, at least I hope that is what’s happening!).

Trump meets Kim Jong-Un for peace talks and liberals are displeased

‘We will be stopping the war games - they’re very provocative, and it will save us a lot of money. I want to bring the troops home, but that’s not in the equation right now’. - Donald Trump

Trump is an ass, sure. I loathe him for many reasons, not least his actions in Palestine. But if he is being remotely sincere in this statement, during a press conference following his meeting with the North Korean leader, then it is a big step forward, and undoubtably a 'fuck you' to the military-industrial complex.

Following this statement by Trump, CNN promptly began with the criticism, once again revealing themselves as mouthpieces for the arms dealers who advertise with them.

It isn't just CNN. Across the board, liberal pundits and their followers are reacting in disdain or disapproval at this meeting, many seeing it as further evidence that Trump is doing Putin's bidding. Liberals have gone insane! Someone really needs to explain to them that it is possible to oppose Trump AND oppose going down a path towards nuclear war. And it is also just possible, that this isn't all some conspiracy to benefit the Kremlin.

But unfortunately, it is hard for liberals to seriously oppose Trump, because the reality is, that there isn't much of a difference between him and their liberal political idols; the Nancy Pelosi's etc. Both are neoliberal corporatists. To oppose Trump on matters that really matter is to oppose their idols as well. And, as liberals (in my experience) tend to be irrational ideologues, I don't see this happening.

What's more, recently the Democrats actually voted for a higher military budget than Trump. So maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise that liberals now appear more militaristic than Trump!

John Bolton is probably loving all this commentary by the liberal media; the love-in between liberals and Neocons continues!

Whatever you think of Trump. Whatever you think of Kim. I think this is a very positive step forward. With America’s history of aggression, diplomacy needs to be praised. Let’s just hope it’s sincere on America’s side, and that North Korea can finally sign a peace treaty and reconnect with the outside world. Who knows what’s going on behind the scenes; maybe the skeptics are actually right to an extent, and we should not take this meeting remotely seriously? Though, with China and Russia’s backing, NK should be protected from America’s wrath whatever happens.

Robert De Niro, another partisan idiot

Robert De Niro received a standing ovation at the Tony awards after his strong words for Donald Trump.

Very courageous Robert, well done you. I'm sure had bloodthirsty Hillary Clinton been President, you'd have been up there saying the same thing about her when she inevitably decided to bomb some more people/destroy some more countries. Where were you when Obama was bombing 7 countries? Oh, I see you're a supporter of the Palestinian-massacreing IDF, so I guess you're cool with that kind of thing. Unless it's being done by Trump/any other Republican, of course.

These idiots are just pissed that Trump has completely taken the smiling-assassin-Obama mask off their country, in so doing fucking up America’s already-waning standing in the world; they’re embarrassed. And they're completely oblivious to the fact that most of the world is happy about America’s demise, having bothered to actually notice the millions of people killed by their perpetual wars, (or been directly affected by it).

The elitist bubble of Hollywood!

The illiberalism of 'liberal' Macron continues

Regarding Macron's anti-'fake news' law:

Liberals continue to reveal themselves as puppets of the authoritarian ruling class, unable to accept reality and challenge their masters, as they continue to blame widespread discontent in the current system - a system that benefits that ruling elite and not the many - on ‘fake news’ and Russia. Spineless fools!

The moves towards cracking down on freedom of speech/press that we have seen since Trump/Brexit happened should scare us all. This is all about the oligarchy, (whom neoliberal politicians like Macron serve), losing their control of the media and the narrative.

Why are 'links with Russia' worse than 'links with Saudi Arabia'?

Can someone explain to me why having ‘links to Russia’ is worse than having ‘links to the US’? Or indeed, ‘links to Saudi Arabia’? Could it perhaps be due to some extreme Russophobia? I'm not saying that they’re saints, but last I checked, it wasn’t 'the Russians' who’ve been destroying Yemen, arming jihadists in Syria, bringing slavery to Libya, generally wreaking havoc in the Middle East resulting in 4million+ deaths, etc etc.

Personally, I’d advocate for far more ‘links with Russia’, who have demonstrated great restraint in the face of NATO provocation and aggression, and less links with those countries responsible for all this chaos and devastation.

The anti-Russia Propaganda is made clear by media treatment of events in the west

A former candidate for DNC chair - Samuel Ronan - has been assaulted and arrested by US police officers, having refused to obey their (seemingly completely unwarranted) orders to get on the ground.

MSM headline if this was in Russia: ‘Former political candidate targeted by police, then assaulted and arrested. Welcome to Putin’s Russia’. 

When it happens in the US? Tumbleweed.

Also recently, the celebrated TV chef, Anthony Bourdain, died at the age of 61 - he was found hanging in his hotel room in France. Recently, Bourdain tweeted this. I am not saying that the Clintons did it - that is a wild theory. But just imagine if an anti-Putin Russian celebrity had tweeted something similar - that they had been ‘on the receiving end of Putin’s operatives’, then been found dead shortly after. 

The west would blame Putin instantly.

LGBT Activists Protest Against Tel Aviv Pride

More of this please!

The same should happen at Pride events in the US/UK too really, given the west’s unending support for the Israeli regime, (inc $38billion of military aid from Obama).... and given our destruction of Yemen, occupation and arming of head-choppers in Syria, meddling in Latin America, etc.

If we’re going to stand up for the oppressed - which is what Pride is meant to be about, right? - then surely that needs to include all the millions of victims of our government’s foreign interventions (including many, many LGBTs)? How can we ignore all these people killed, maimed and displaced by our wars for oil and Empire?

Seems to me that ID Politics has been exploited by the elite to keep us divided and distracted, and it’s made us lose all sense of rationality.

Let’s care for all humanity and not just our own kind! Let’s combine Pride with an anti-imperialism movement!

Thoughts re Tommy Robinson

Tommy Robinson is an English ‘patriot’/nationalist, and a Zionist - he is not a Nazi.

His claimed agenda - to raise awareness of Islamism in the UK - isn’t entirely irrational: there is clearly a notable problem in his hometown of Luton, (and elsewhere in the UK), with Islamist radicalism.

Tommy likes to blame this problem on a culture of political correctness in the UK, and it may well be true that this has contributed to the radicalism being allowed to fester and spread, but the far greater factors at play here are the policies of western governments, both in terms of imperial wars and alliances abroad (including with Islamist Saudi Arabia), and neoliberal reforms at home.

Although not entirely irrational, Tommy’s oversimplification of a complex issue, and his delivery, reek of Islamophobia and racism, (as does his admiration for the racist regime in Israel). In his rhetoric, he consistently tars Islam as a whole, rather than focussing on the radical sects - Wahhabism/Salafism. He has ostensibly acknowledged that he shouldn’t do this - he has said in interviews that the Salafi ideology is his concern and that he doesn’t seek to condemn all Muslims - so why does he?! Why does he keep generalising and smearing the entire religion?! Surely he must realize that by simply blaming 'Islam', rather than the specific sects, this encourages racism towards the entire Muslim community? He’s either dangerously stupid and insensitive, or he’s a liar and a racist. If we give him the benefit of the doubt and deem that he is the former, in any case he is most definitely not the man for the mission!

To demonstrate that his agenda isn’t racially motivated, he must stop generalizing, and he should start attacking the neoliberal system, which is surely the main cause of the breakdown of communities, as has happened in Luton, (and as said, one of the factors that fuels the radicalism). And he should start condemning western imperialism, which has led to a protracted genocide of Muslims, (undoubtably fueling extremism, and thus - blowback), has enabled Wahhabi Saudi Arabia to spread their ideology throughout the UK and Europe, and is the cause of the mass migration crisis. He should also be doing FAR more to denounce the very blatant racism and Islamophobia of his support base.

Whatever Tommy Robinson is, he’s a product of an endemically racist and rigged system; our governments have destroyed communities for the benefit of corporate power, and their foreign policies have destroyed entire Middle Eastern countries, killing some four million Muslims in recent decades, and causing millions of others to flee to Europe, in desperation. Did any western policy makers think that any of this would lead to global and societal cohesion, and peace? Of course not, because their policies, both domestic and foreign, are about profit for the few - not peace and harmony for the many. Our being divided serves the interests of the policy creators - the oligarchy - perfectly.

Tommy Robinson is just another distraction; a useful idiot diverting attention from the real enemy: the ruling elite.

More Neoliberal Tyranny in Italy

So the president of Italy has installed a fucking ex-IMF economist as Prime Minister, just after having refused to allow an anti-austerity/EU-skeptic government into power. Temporarily, so they say, but it's the first time - since the fall of fascist Mussolini - that the head of state in Italy has wielded such power, and blocked the formation of a government. Is fascism returning in a different form?

Is it actually possible for any EU country to escape neoliberal globalism? Do we live in democracies, or do we live in societies controlled by markets; by corporate/plutocrat power? Right wing nationalism will continue to flourish unless the Left is able to offer real progressive change away from this system.

The anti-democratic nature of the system that we live under continues to reveal itself. The neoliberal elite have Europe under their thumb - was that the whole point of the EU?

Article from 2011:

http://www.counterfire.org/international/15114-italy-and-the-global-neoliberal-assault-on-democracy

Columbia joining NATO?

Columbia is suddenly joining NATO just as a left-winger has emerged as potential leader. 🤔

The re-colonisation of Latin America by the US/capitalist elite continues! 

Never mind all the many human rights abuses by the current right-wing government in Columbia. They’re subservient to US/capitalist interests so who gives a fuck. 

‘Mainstream’ Media generally only cares for alleged abuses of power by left-wing/non-US compliant governments, like that in Venezuela. Why? Because they’re agents of Empire.

Israel wins Eurovision

Well next year’s Eurovision will be interesting!

Netta, the winner (for Israel), is all about celebrating diversity.

As I saw someone say on Twitter - how about we celebrate diversity by using the attention that the Israel/Palestine issue will get as a result of her win, to liberate a marginalised (to put it mildly) people - the Palestinians? 

Given she’s already presumed that next year’s contest will be held in occupied Jerusalem - the rightful capital of Palestine - I guess she’s unlikely to get behind this kind of diversity.

For me, this is so representative of what the fake ‘diversity’ agenda is about: basically mass pink-washing/diversity-washing of the malevolence of the elite, with their corrupt corporatism and imperial projects.

Who's doing the retaliating?

The 'MSM', as ever, are acting as stenographers/propagandists for the Israeli regime, reporting that they have been 'retaliating' to an Iranian attack on the Golan Heights.

Syrian commanders have said that these rockets were not fired by Iran - they were fired by them, in retaliation to Israeli strikes on Damascus.

It is Syria that is doing the retaliating here. Israel is quite blatantly the aggressor. They’ve continuously attacked Syria throughout the Syrian war, have supported the jihadi ‘rebels’, and lets not forget - they have been occupying Syrian territory, THE GOLAN HEIGHTS, for 40 years!

To summarise - Israel has ‘retaliated’ in response to a RETALIATORY attack on a piece of land that they are illegally occupying.

Yet Israel’s loyal servants in the ‘MSM’ somehow manage to frame it so that Iran and Syria are the aggressors.

As ever, Israel is the spoilt brat and the bully. They expect to get what they want and now feel emboldened with Trump’s backing. They want Iran wiped off the map, so will fabricate any nonsense to reach that goal.

Trump - Israel Collusion and the Iran Deal

Trump has announced that the US will be pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal. Netanyahu is delighted.

Yet another sure sign of the adherence of the 'MSM' to the state, on matters of foreign policy, is their refusal to report on the evident collusion between the Trump administration & the Israeli administration. (Having spent 1.5 years doing so re Trump-Russia collusion, despite little evidence). 

But perhaps this is because collusion between Neoconservatism and Zionism is nothing new?

The alliance between these ideologies, as well as Saudi Wahhabism, is responsible for mass human suffering, and is the greatest threat to peace. The regimes of the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia are the real 'axis of evil', and little Iran is up against all three. We should all be standing with Iran at this time.

It's always seemed likely to me that the long-term plan was to sign a deal with Iran, then fabricate evidence of non-compliance to justify regime-change - i.e. to prove that Iran is a rogue state that won't comply with anything, thus justifying military intervention as the only option.

Let's hope that European and other normally subservient states remain in solidarity with Iran and supportive of the deal. Iran has just dumped the dollar for the euro in foreign trade transactions, so that might have something to do with their willingness to challenge US power for a change...

Propaganda Worse In Neoliberal Countries?

I think propaganda in the neoliberal 'west' is very possibly more pervasive than in Russia - a crazy notion to most westerners, I realize!

It seems to me that propaganda in the western mass media is largely a result of our extremely un-equal, corporate, plutocratic system, and our not having governments that hold these powerful interests to account - instead, our governments are corrupted into serving their interests, rather than the interests of the electorate. This system is a result of an ideology of privatization and deregulation - neoliberal capitalism.

The plutocrats and corporations can funnel money into NGO's and ‘think tanks’, that are then relied upon by the media. And by our governments - to advise on domestic and foreign policy. Additionally, they can of course funnel money directly to the media, politicians, political parties, and the government. They also gain influence over the media via advertising - for example, arms contractors advertise on TV news networks, creating a conflict of interest in a time of war, when the arms contractors will inevitably favour war over peace, in the pursuit of perpetual profit for the military-industrial complex. This will inevitably have influence over the network's editorial line, as they seek to not displease their clients.

The ruling elite's ability to manipulate the populace has been made even easier in recent decades, as the mass media has monopolized. The corporate media is now owned by just a handful of rich men - all of whom have vested interests that will, obviously, influence the output. (For example, some have direct vested interests in oil digging in the Middle East). So it is not just a case of powerful interests funding and manipulating the media - they also own it.

Journalists down the chain in these media corporations will insist that they have full control over their output, but as per Noam Chomsky's theory - the Manufacturing Of Consent - it is largely only those who are of a certain pro-status-quo mindset who will gain employment and advance their careers in the corporate media. Those who refuse to go along with the prevailing view on any given issue - particularly on matters of war and peace - often end up cast aside, as they upset the sponsors and hinder profit margins. Profit trumps truth and ethics in the corporate media.

Meanwhile, in Russia - a country outside of the globalist neoliberal Empire - they have a centralized, authoritarian leadership, thus are more easily able to keep powerful interests in check, including their ability to own and manipulate media. This doesn’t mean I think Kremlin-funded media can be trusted either, obviously - state funded media will inevitably be biased towards the interest of the state, to varying degrees depending on how genuinely democratic the government is and how genuinely independent the media organization is.

Nor does it mean that I think there isn’t also corruption in Russia, or that Putin is a saint. But I think the evidence suggests that Putin’s government, comparatively to western governments at least, acts vastly more in the interests of his people. He has overseen a huge economic recovery in Russia, following the chaos of the 1990s, when western and Russian corporations/oligarchs, with help from the US government, looted the country, leading to a huge drop in living standards.

It seems to me that the reason the Russian government is able to act more in the interests of the populace, (and indeed the reason for Putin's huge popularity), and the reason that Russian media is perhaps less susceptible to manipulation by powerful interests, is that they have done the opposite of what we in the west have done - they have taken some of the power AWAY from private hands. Whereas neoliberal reforms in the west handed power TO private hands, leading to vast inequality, the siphoning of money (and power) to the top, and thus worker exploitation, wage stagnation, community upheaval etc; all inevitable results of handing over the country to unaccountable power.

I think the best example that clearly shows where the interests of the neoliberal west lie can be seen in US congressional spending - around 55% of the budget goes on the military ($850 billion). Any rational person will surely see that this is beyond crazy. And this is happening whilst problems with poverty and homelessness etc get worse and worse. But what is most alarming is that most Americans don't seem to see this as absolutely crazy - they seem to just accept it. Why is this? I think largely because the powerful interests that benefit from it also own and fund the corporate media, which can seemingly still propagate much of the populace into believing that black is white; into believing that a system which is killing their country - and the world - is actually a system that will benefit them.  

Thankfully, the internet, particularly social media, is helping people to ‘wake up’ to this craziness, (hence the recent anti-establishment movements). And that, it seems quite clear to me, is why western governments are seeking to ‘manage’ the internet, and ‘regulate’ social media – to quell dissent and reverse this awakening, ensuring that the powerful interests don’t completely lose their ability to control the masses.